"Okay, that's the third time I caught you looking across the bar at that girl. What's going on?"
"Seriously?" I glanced at Eli after I swallowed a mouth full of beer. "Since when is it weird for us to check out girls while we're here? Hell, I thought that was the main reason why we came in the first place."
"It is, but her?" he all but snorted. "You can't be serious."
"What's wrong with her?" I took another look. I admit the girl wasn't beautiful in the classic sense, but she was attractive enough.
"She's chubby," Eli critiqued. "And on the plain side."
"She's not chubby, dumbass!" I snapped, half annoyed and half laughing. I knew he was being a jerk just to bother me, but that it didn't stop me from reacting. "She's also not built like the little boys you like to date." Eli liked his women on the slim side. He grinned at my dig, which was so Eli. We'd been friends too long for name calling to matter. "And have you looked at those eyes? There's nothing plain about them."
"Her eyes?" He asked, rolling his own. "I'm pretty sure that not a part of the woman we typically come to bars to check out."
"Not usually," I mused. "But there's something about hers that..."
"Fine, she's God's gift to men everywhere," Eli interjected sarcastically, cutting me off. "But that still doesn't explain your interest because we both know she's not your type. You're usually into 'the girl next store' and this one certainly isn't that." He paused long enough to take a pull from his beer and notice me looking at her yet again when he was done. Eli shook his head in disbelief. "For Christ's sake! She's wearing a nose ring and her hair's purple! Are you trying to tell me you're suddenly into that?"
The girl wasn't wearing a nose ring. It was a small stud and her hair was long and brunette, not purple. Okay, so there was a streak of color coming out from underneath on one side, but it wasn't blaring or obnoxious. It actually looked good. Of course, that didn't make Eli's point any less true.
"No, she's not," I admitted. "But there's something about her."
"You're not going to mention her eyes again, are you?" I knew he meant it as a dig, but I didn't let him distract me.
"They're gorgeous." I insisted before frowning and adding, "But also sort of sad." She was sitting at the bar by herself nursing her drink. The place was filled with holiday spirit this close to Christmas, but she seemed immune.
"They're brown," Eli stated with a shake of his head as he looked at her once more.
We remained silent a few moments, each watching the brunette thinking our own thoughts. A guy walked up to her and started talking. It was pretty clear that he was hitting on her. It was equally obvious based on her expression that he was going to crash and burn. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but it must have been rough because the guy left only moments after he arrived.
Eli shook his head and added, "Although, the girl definitely has a style all her own."
"I like it." I hadn't missed his sarcasm. I simply chose to ignore it. Eli shrugged and moved on to checking out some of the other women sitting nearby. My eyes remained on the brunette. She was probably a couple years younger than me. Maybe twenty-four or twenty-five.
Most of the women in the bar had either come straight from an office job or had taken the time to stop home and dress to impress. The girl was different there as well. She was wearing an old, black long sleeve concert tee-shirt for some Christian band and comfortable jeans. It should have made her seem out of place, but it didn't. Not to me anyway.
Eli and I spent the next ten minutes catching up since we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, but every time there was a lull in the conversation my eyes wandered back to the brunette. Honestly, I occasionally stole a glance in her direction even when we were talking.
My best friend wasn't blind to my antics, but instead of commenting again, he'd just roll his eyes when he caught me. I was only half paying attention to what he was saying when Eli suddenly finished his beer and stood. For a moment, I thought he was going to insist we go over and introduce ourselves, but instead he said, "Well, it's getting late and I've got to go."
"Already?" I was disappointed. Eli had only agreed to meet up for a couple of drinks, but I had hoped to convince him to hang out longer. I took one look at his expression and knew it wasn't going to happen. That typically meant only one thing. "Hot date?"
"Smoking!" he laughed, but it was short lived. He grimaced as the music started again. "Besides, I've had as much as I can stand of Christmas Carols."
I didn't blame him. Tomorrow was the Eve and I was looking forward to when the holiday was over. Don't get me wrong. I love the whole Christmas spirit thing and all, but sometimes it got old.
"I hear you." The bar was popular in town for a couple of reasons. First, it had cheap drinks during happy hour. And second, they had something going on most nights for entertainment. I liked when they had a live band. I could deal with the trivia contests. Unfortunately, tonight was karaoke night.
Worse, some genius decided that there should be a holiday theme since this was Christmas week. I know that might not sound bad, but you could only suffer so many badly sung renditions of the Christmas Song before snapping. Still, the night was young and I wasn't ready to go home yet.
"I'm going to hang out a bit longer," I said, holding out my hand and adding with a slow grin, "Happy Festivus." It was an old joke between us. Eli didn't celebrate Christmas. He didn't really celebrate Hanukkah either despite his upbringing. He wasn't the most religious guy in the world so Seinfeld's Festivus holiday was perfect for him.
"Happy Festivus for the rest of us!" He laughed as he shook my hand and pulled me into a brief hug that was more of a chest bump. "And you have a Merry Christmas."
"Thanks, but it doesn't look hopeful. I love my extended family, but I'm not sure why we still get together every year. Some of my cousins are way out there. In fact..."
"Just be sure to say hello to Jean for me," Eli interjected with a grin as he stepped back, obviously not interested in listening to my holiday woes yet again. "And wish your parents a Merry Christmas for me." His bringing up my cousin reminded me that I forgot to tell him the news. This was going to be good.
Eli had a crush on Jean for years, ever since her parents went away on a romantic getaway for one of their anniversaries and left her with us for a week. We were around fourteen or fifteen at the time. Back then Jean lived about two hours away so nothing ever came of it, but the sparks were obvious between the two whenever her family visited.
I would have tried to set them up when she graduated college and moved closer for a job, but Jean brought a live-in boyfriend with her. I'd met him a couple of times. She seemed to really care for the guy at first, but he wasn't my favorite person in the world and it had nothing to do with Eli. I didn't like the way he treated my cousin. She deserved better.
"Speaking of Jean," I said nonchalantly before he disappeared. I also pulled out my phone and started typing. "I heard she finally dumped the loser. He moved out last week."
I watched for Eli's reaction and wasn't disappointed. His expression was almost comical. That's when I hit send on my phone, texting him Jean's number. "You should give her a call soon. A girl like her won't stay on the market long." Eli pulled out his phone when it beeped and grinned when he saw what I sent him.
